6: Why is it Hard to Get Into Med School as an International Applicant? - a podcast by Ryan Gray

Session 6 Applying to medical school as an international applicant can be a huge obstacle to overcome. But why is it so hard? That's what we will cover in today show.
But first, did you know that we do the recordings of this podcast  live on Facebook at 3pm Eastern on most weekdays? Check out our Facebook page and like the page to be notified. Also check us out on YouTube and all our other episodes on MedEd Media.[00:25] What If You're Attending Undergrad Here in the U.S.? The number one schools typically like to see is that your prereqs are done at a U.S. school. That's the first barrier to entry. But what if you're an international student here already in the States and taking your undergrad at a U.S. school. You would still not be considered a non international student since you did your undergrad here.
The"international"comes into play based on your residency status, not necessarily where you did your undergrad. So even if you did your undergrad at a U.S. school, you're still considered an international student.
[01:15]A Challenge in Translating the Transcript As an international student, if you have your grades from overseas, how are the schools going to be able to translate your transcripts to the U.S. systems? That being said, there are still a couple of huge obstacles."There are lots of things that come into play for international students which makes it a little bit harder."[02:02] Are You Going to Stay? A lot of schools are public schools which are typically supported by the state. The state wants to train citizens and residents of that state so they hopefully stay in that state and practice in that state. They hope they'd contribute to the taxes and the economy in that state.
But an international student is not guaranteed to do that. They may come to the states, get their undergrad degree and medical school education. And then they may go back home to whatever country they're from to practice medicine with a U.S. education. Although a lot of international students want to stay here in the U.S. to practice medicine in.
[03:03] Money Issues Medical school is expensive. Typically, students pay for that expense with federal student loans. Federal student loans are only eligible to permanent residents or citizens of the U.S."International students do not qualify for federal loans."So when you're applying to medical schools in the U.S., you need to prove to the medical school that you have the funds to pay for it. You need to prove that you're not going to go and stiff the school with a big, fat bill for your tuition.
[03:58]Postgrad Training Required Another big thing students worry about is whether or not you're going to go on and be a productive physician and get a residency slot after medical school. And go on and get your postgraduate training."The weird thing about medicine is that you can't practice medicine without doing postgraduate training."Lawyers can go out law as soon as they graduate law school or dentists can practice dentistry as soon as they graduate dental school. Doctors, however, can't go out and practice medicine until they've done (depending on the state) at least one year of postgraduate training and typically three years of postgraduate training.
[04:52]Visa Issues International students need to be able to get work visas to be able to stay in the States post-graduation since they're no longer on a student visa. They need a work visa to stay in the States and practice.
Typically the hospital that accepts them or where they match at is the one that sponsors a visa. I've seen plenty of horror stories from student residents that are stuck in whatever country they're from. They can't get back to the States to start their residency even though they've matched. There are visa issues that come up and the hospital now is losing man hours because the resident is stuck in another country due to visa issues."A medical school doesn't want to have one of their

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